1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a process for the recovery of a precipitate containing the antitumor antibiotic macromomycin (MCR) for a culture filtrate in a high yield.
2. Description of the Prior Art
MCR was found in a culture filtrate of Stremptomyces macromomyceticus as an antitimor antibiotic exhibiting strong inhibition of the tumor growth, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,954.
Hitherto, when MCR is to be recovered from a culture filtrate by salting-out, the culture filtrate has been saturated with ammonium sulfate and allowed to stand at a low temperature for several hours, and then the precipitate obtained has been collected by centrifugation. However, in this case, the precipitate sedimented with difficulty and centrifugal force of at least 25,000.times.G for 10 minutes was required in order to recover at least 60% of MCR from the culture filtrate. The application of this process to industrial production is virtually impossible because the industrial centrifuge bearing such a high centrifugal force does not exist .